Earthrise

Image Credit:
NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

Published:
October 5, 2017

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft's vantage point in orbit around the Moon. This image was composed from a series of images taken Oct. 12, 2015. when LRO was about 83 miles (134 kilometers) above the moon's farside crater Compton. In this composite image we see Earth appear to rise over the lunar horizon from the viewpoint of the spacecraft, with the center of the Earth just off the coast of Liberia (at 4.04 degrees North, 12.44 degrees West). The large tan area in the upper right is the Sahara Desert, and just beyond is Saudi Arabia. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America are visible to the left. On the moon, we get a glimpse of the crater Compton, which is located just beyond the eastern limb of the moon, on the lunar farside. See more details.